The colour secrets behind good quality sleep

New research from Sealy UK and Loughborough University’s Clinical Sleep Research Unit (CSRU) has revealed that 77% of Britons are not getting a sufficient amount of sleep at night – might the colour of the bedroom be a decisive factor? Holly Housby, Sealy's marketing controller, takes a deeper look into how colours can affect not only our moods, but our sleeping patterns …

Blue

Blue is a cool and calming colour and can actually lower our blood pressure. As we associate the colour with water and the sky, it provides us with a sense of tranquility, which in turn makes us feel relaxed and can help us to nod off faster into a deeper sleep.

Green

Green represents nature and helps us connect with the natural world, creating a feeling of relaxation and calmness. Dating back to the cavemen era, the colour reassures us on a primitive level, as it indicates the presence of water. Because of this, having a faded or pastel green bedroom can subconsciously calm you after a stressful day and help you get some good quality rest.

White

While a white bedroom may seem boring to some, it is one of the best colours for a creating a sense of serenity. Symbolising purity and hygiene, white also gives us a greater sense of space, making us feel at peace before we hit the hay for the night.

Purple

Depending on the shade, purple can be a great choice of colour scheme for a bedroom. A deep, rich purple can be very dramatic and is best to be avoided in the bedroom. However, paler shades such as lilac can represent spirituality and wisdom, resulting in a calming effect on our mood.

Red

Being synonymous with emotions such as anger and passion, red is a very powerful colour and should be avoided at all costs in our bedrooms. The colour can actually have physical effects on us by raising our pulse rate and activating the fight or flight instinct. This makes it very difficult to relax and unwind after a long day, and makes falling asleep even more of a feat.

Pink

Being a similar shade to red and also synonymous with love, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it would have similar emotional effects on us. In fact, pink soothes us rather than stimulates us and is a great choice for a colour scheme. However, too much of it can be overpowering, so opt for subtle shades rather than a deep or bright pink.

Yellow

While we think of sunshine and joy when we see yellow, having a yellow bedroom could in fact have a negative impact on your mood. Too much yellow in a colour scheme can actually increase feelings of frustration and make it more likely for you to lose your temper. Feeling worked-up before going to bed obviously makes it harder to switch off from the events of the day and more difficult to fall asleep.

When we choose our colour schemes for our houses, we tend to just pick the colours we love. But bright colours around the bedroom are likely to subconsciously increase our stress levels and make switching off at night that little bit harder. Opting for subtle colours of shades such as green, blue, and white can have the opposite effect, helping you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.